WindREN AB

Wind-Renewable Energy Now

The graph shows the development of wind energy production in Germany from 1999 to 2012 compared to Swedish and Finnish nuclear energy ditto. Sweden is, compared to Germany, larger, has a better wind energy potential and is less densely populated. A planning target of 30 TWh from wind by 2020 would, if achieved, equal 20% of the Sweden's present energy consumption. In just 6 years, 2007-2012, China has installed and grid connected 60 GW of wind that produces as much electricity anually as the country's 17 nuclear reactors. One year later, by the end of 2013, China's grid connected wind energy production capacity will be 75 GW, enabling an annual electricity production of 150 TWh. Sweden's electricity consumption is... 150 TWh/year. A study (in Swedish) carried out by Prof. Lennart Söder concerning the cost of balancing 45 TWh of wind energy and 10 TWh PV in the Swedish grid, [1], indicates that consumers, due to their largely non-predictable, quick and large variations in energy consumption, create a greater balancing cost than well predictable and slowly varying renewables.
[1]
Söder L., "På väg mot en elförsörjning baserad på enbart förnybar el i Sverige: En studie om behovet av reglerkraft. Version 1.0", KTH, Stockholm, Sweden, 2012, http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-105278